Centuries

Celestia193's Author's Note: Alright, now, while this is the final chapter, Silver has decided to leave the possibility of a sequel up in the air somewhere. So, if there's interest for that, let us know. My schedule is going to be pretty hectic as I move into the second half of my university semester, but a sequel is definitely a possibility. Also, Indra learns to use a computer, and gets an unfortunate introduction to the Internet.

Silver's Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Yes, there might be a sequel. It will depend on our schedules and the amount of interest in such a thing. Anyway, thank you all for supporting this very unconventional story and we hope that you enjoy the grand finale of Centuries.

Chapter 24

The journey took a bit longer than expected, but that was mostly because the merman turned out to be a wonderfully conversational person. "You were not exaggerating when you said it was seven miles across." He constantly was regaling her with various tales about the supernatural beings who lived at the estate and Aoda. So she ended up getting distracted for a while there, but eventually they came upon the beautiful estate.

It was so vast. She could see the actual buildings, the forest, and the grounds. There was even a river running through it that would make a perfect place for her to nest. She didn't see the other dragon yet though, but she could smell the scent. It was just so saturated that, she couldn't tell where he was exactly...probably because he'd lived here for awhile, she suspected.

The resident dragon, on the other hand, could smell a foreign scent with Suigetsu as the two made their approach. And like the good guard dragon he was, he got to his feet, after having been lounging in the courtyard all day, and looks to the sky, eyes peeled, just in case there was danger.

"Yep." Suigetsu grins and smiles, feeling rather pleased with himself. "I imagine Aoda will be coming to greet us soon. He might be shocked at first or a bit aggressive. He's very much the guardian of the estate."

Kara wasn't sure how she felt about that. Aggressive? What kind of dragon was Aoda anyway? He was probably bigger than her because she a fairly small breed. Sure, there were smaller ones out there, but no one would accuse her breed of being one of the leviathans.

"And you're sure that he'll be friendly." The dragon was now beginning to fret. "I don't want to...battle him for the territory." Not when he was apparently this well established and good land territories were exceedingly hard to come by. It was one thing to find a good spot in the ocean, but on land it was far more difficult because humans were everywhere these days.

Aoda ambles out of the courtyard, nose on the approaching…thing in the sky. He couldn't see it, but he could definitely smell it. It smelled like the merman, but also…not. It smelled nice, but strange, and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

"Yeah. I'm sure he'll be okay." Suigetsu smiles and pats her. "He's just got to get to know you." Oh shoot. The cloak. "We're in the Estate now, so we can take the collar off." He quickly slides that off her. "There that's better." That should send Aoda running, err flying.

The purple dragon blinks at the sight of the blue…thing in the sky, not much smaller than him. And there was the merman, riding on his…her…it's back. They were on the approach, so he paws at the ground, digging his claws into it as he launches himself into the air, gaining altitude quickly as he spirals above the estate, tilting his trajectory to intercept the approaching…thing.

Suigetsu grins at Aoda. "It's alright, Aoda." He pats Kara's head as if to prove it. "Don't worry, she's friendly. Kara this is Aoda. Aoda meet Kara." Hopefully, this would work. Aoda looked well...kinda freaked out but also curious.

She, this…thing was a she, a female. Aoda slows, flapping his wings to remain sort of hovering in mid-air. "She's friendly?" If she was female, then she was like Suigetsu's mate, the she-demon. "She is not here to hurt Master Sasuke?"

"Nah. She's not here to hurt Master Sasuke." He hadn't really thought of that, but Suigetsu should have. Aoda's first instinct was to protect Sasuke and everything else seemed secondary. "I told her that it was a big, safe territory, and that everyone was friendly here. Figured you'd like having another dragon around. To do dragon stuff with." Whatever that entailed.

The giant purple reptile blinks, staring at the blue female. She was a dragon too? "Oh." Aoda blinks again, and his tail begins swishing back and forth as he slowly begins to lose altitude, descending towards the courtyard again.

Suigetsu guides Kara to a landing as the amphibious dragon looks at Aoda curiously. "So if you two hit it off, Sasuke already said she could stay." Suigetsu smiles at them. "If you don't, well I can always take her back to her old territory."

Aoda paws his way towards her, head lowered and nose out, sniffing curiously at her. She smelled good. So this was a female dragon? Her horns were strange, but they looked like those old crowns that Master Sasuke showed him in books. So, he sniffs at the ones on her back legs finding her scent a little stronger there.

If dragons could blush, Kara would have been blushing. Instead, she decides to sniff him right back. Since Aoda was taking such liabilities with her and there didn't seem to be any real aggression in his approach, she could do the same to him.

"Yeah. She's a water dragon." Suigetsu nods. "There are a lot of different breeds of land and water dragons, but she's an amphibious one. So she can live on land or water."

As Kara shifts, Aoda follows her, continuing to sniff at her, memorizing and familiarizing himself with the scent of this female. "We have a river, and a lake not too far from the house." And she didn't smell dangerous, that was good. Not like that bad snake smell from the bloody, rotting head out front. Aoda didn't like the smell of that, but it was Master Sasuke's trophy.

Suigetsu figures that was as close to a yippee as he was going to get from Aoda at the moment. "Yeah. That's what I was thinking." He figured that the other dragon would be doing cartwheels at seeing another dragon, but well it was all so new to him. He'd have to teach Aoda how to pick up chicks (well one female dragon) later. For now, he decides just to take it as a good sign they weren't attacking each other.

"They both sound nice." Kara smiles at him. Well as much as dragons could smile. Mostly she just pulls her lips back and her tongue wags slightly.

Upon seeing the 'smile', Aoda smiles back, his toothy grin full of razor sharp teeth, but his tail wagging happily. "The deepest spot in the river is close to the gates. Would you like to see?"

"Okay." Her tail sways, the dragon version of a dog wagging its tail when happy. "If you don't mind showing me."

"This way." Aoda hums happily, tail swaying back and forth as he ambles towards the river, a huge dragon grin on his face. "I've never met another dragon before. You have very shiny scales."

"Oh I guess that makes us somewhat even." She walks by him. "I've never met a land dragon and yes, I just shed my old ones a few days ago. So they're all nice and shiny. I mean they usually are, but they're always best when they're new." Her tail swishes proudly. "You know?"

"Oh yes. Master Sasuke sometimes rubs oil on my scales after moulting, or the half-giant, or the cook." Aoda did love it when they made his scales all nice and shiny. "It takes away the itching too."

"Oh that's nice of them." She'd never heard of two leggers doing that. "Sometimes my clutch-mates would clean my scales, but we were getting older and most of them have already left our nest by now." She had always been a bit more cautious by nature.

"Oh…" Aoda's tail sweeps across the ground, curling around Kara's. "I'm sure Master Sasuke will rub your scales too. Jugo is very good at it too, he has large hands, but rubs very gently."

"Large hands are good." Humans tended to be on the small side compared to dragons, but Suigetsu had told her that Jugo was half giant... "Oil scales faster that way." She nods sagely.

"Exactly." Aoda hums as they approach the edge of the river, and he dips his scaly toes in. "Master Sasuke taught me to swim when I was a hatchling."

"That's good." She smiles and jumps right into the water, swimming around rapidly in circles happily.

Yes, yes it was. Aoda gets tugged into the water by the tail, rumbling in a mixture of surprise and delight as he splashes into the water.

Sasuke raises an eyebrow as he opens the front door to see what all of the commotion is about. "…You brought me another pet dragon?" THAT was what Suigetsu meant when he suggested getting Aoda a playmate?

"Well yeah." Suigetsu grins and points to them. "Just look how happy Aoda is to have a playmate."

The old vampire eyes the two splashing about in the water, before sighing and shaking his head. "Yes, I see. Though you could have warned me." He wasn't opposed to having a second dragon on the property, but he would have appreciated a word of warning, instead of a vague question asked while he was half asleep.

"Well I asked and you said yes." The merman smirks at that, feeling rather pleased with himself.

"Yes, after barging into my room and waking me up." Sasuke whacks Suigetsu in the back of the head, before turning back inside. "You're such a moron."

"Well I'm a moron who outsmarted you." Suigetsu laughs at him. "I guess Itachi must have screwed your brains out or something."

"And I guess I should just compel you to go to Karin and ask her to peg you." It would serve the idiot right, and get him out of Sasuke's hair for a while.

Suigetsu backs away from Sasuke. "You're a sick vamp. Itachi has to watch out for you." Sheesh! That was twisted.

The eyebrow rises once more. "…You're saying that to a male vampire, who is almost by default bisexual, and has an equally male and bisexual bloodmate." Exactly what part of the shoving cocks up asses did Suigetsu not understand?

"Yeah well I very much prefer the female side of anatomy. You and Itachi can handle the receiving side of things." Sheesh! Suigetsu scurries off.

"Hn." Sasuke rolls his eyes at the merman as he disappears from sight, leaning against the archway to the sitting room. And he was definitely not alone. "…I know you're there. You're still no good at hiding from me."

"Should I be worried that my stealth skills apparently aren't up to par?" Itachi chuckles as he strides over to his Mate. "I can't believe he found another dragon." Itachi pauses and adds. "Sasuke, this is a bit awkward...but is Aoda fixed?"

"Of course not." What a silly thing to ask. "Why would I ever castrate my pet dragon?" Sasuke wasn't cruel, at least not to animals, besides, he'd never seen a need for it.

In that case, oh boy. "Did Suigetsu say...if it was a female dragon?" Because Itachi was doing the math and he expected there might be a sudden surge in their dragon population.

"He didn't say, but the dragon definitely looked more like a female than Aoda." Not that that bothered Sasuke, dragons were special, more so than humans, anyway. "Besides, if they have hatchlings, then that just means you can have your own pet guard dragon. It would help bring the land dragons back from the brink of extinction, too."

"Oh good." Well if Sasuke wasn't worried about baby dragons, then Itachi supposed he wasn't either. "I wonder how many eggs they typically lay..."

"I think that it's five to eight eggs per clutch, and usually about once every couple of decades, or so. And it's a good clutch if more than half survive to maturity." Sasuke wasn't completely sure how it worked, but it worked well enough that the dragon population was never overwhelmingly high.

Itachi blinks at that. "Aoda would be absolutely devastated if some of the clutch didn't survive." Though those were probably 'wild' statistics. "I'm sure the odds improve dramatically under ideal conditions such as this though."

"Most likely." Though Sasuke wondered if perhaps those conditions might make the clutch sizes decrease as an evolutionary balance. "In any case, if that one is a female, I expect that we'll be seeing baby dragons crawling about within the next few years." And probably trying to set things on fire. Or not, if their mother was a sea dragon. They might not breathe fire at all, actually.

"Maybe soon." Itachi didn't know anything about dragon fertility rates. "I imagine Aoda will be rather happy about seeing another dragon and he's always been such a friendly individual." Still it would prove interesting to see a crossbreed.

Sasuke smirks at the thought. "They're already playing in the water together. They'll be friends in no time." And it did make him happy to see that Aoda would get his own chance at having a mate. Or, at the very least, someone of his own kind to spend time with. He would never be a wild dragon, but maybe some exposure to one would help him grow.

Itachi couldn't help, but laugh at that. It seemed Aoda enjoyed playing in the water as much as Sasuke enjoyed playing in the tub. "Good. I'm sure they'll be good friends soon too." He smiles and kisses Sasuke's cheek. "Just like us, only scalier."

And minus centuries of death, trauma, and bloodshed. But Sasuke wasn't going to ruin the mood by saying that out loud. "Then maybe I should make sure to give Aoda some pointers later. He's never interacted with another dragon before, so it would do him some good to know how to treat a female."

"That's kind of you." The younger vampire snuggles into his lover. "Though I'm not really sure how much you know about female dragons either."

"I've met a couple, before they nearly went extinct. They were both excellent conversationalists." Otherwise, how would Sasuke have figured out how to raise Aoda? "For example, they have this one spot they really like to have licked when they're in heat."

"..." Yeah. There was nothing Itachi could say that wouldn't sound vulgar. "Well it seems as though some things are universal then. Yes, he might find such information useful."

"I'm sure that he will." Sasuke smirks at the rather traumatized expression on his mate's face. "And I would be a very bad parent if I didn't give him the talons and tails talk."

"That would probably be a good idea." Itachi was pretty sure that it was largely instinctual for dragons, but who knew?

Sasuke chuckles, turning to wrap his arms around Itachi's neck. "Well, at least I didn't have to give you that talk. How DID they give that talk in the sixties, anyway?"

"There were a lot of references to gardens and water hoses or bees." Itachi nods at him. "Well at least that's what my parents told me. Though my father did at first try the eel in the cave metaphor." That one had creeped Itachi out enough that his mother had been forced to step in.

"…Apparently, sex education has really gone downhill." At least talons and tails made sense, those were literal parts of dragon anatomy. But Sasuke couldn't understand, for the life or death of him, what an eel in the cave was supposed to accomplish, apart from traumatizing the child. "…At least you haven't tried to stick an eel into MY cave."

"Well you see the eel as a metaphor for the man's...equipment and the cave for the woman's...well you know." Itachi shrugs at that. "It was...traumatizing at first because I took it too literally."

"Yes, so I gathered." Honestly, Sasuke had never been so lax with Kakashi's education. "I hope that Kakashi set you straight, because honestly, those explanations sound either useless, or like they belong in a horror movie."

Itachi shakes his head and chuckles. "Well, obviously I had figured it out before I became a vampire." Itachi hadn't been THAT innocent as a human. Granted, it was nothing compared to the notches Sasuke and Kakashi had in their bedposts, but still.

"Yes, I imagine that you did." Sasuke chuckles as he kisses his mate softly. "Though I'm rather glad that I wasn't subjected to such terrifying ways of explaining sex. My basic training included the mechanics, and many tricks, just in case I needed them. And there were no…eels involved. Indra covered what pertained to sleeping with men later." Not in a practical sense, but enough that Sasuke had been able to try it out on his own initiative.

Itachi smiles and kisses back. "Well I'm glad that your education was so thorough." He had certainly benefited from it.

Sasuke smirks into the kiss. "We could probably get you through another lesson before dinner." Assuming, of course, that they remembered to come up for air sooner or later and didn't miss it.

"I'm sure we could." Itachi smiles slyly at his Mate.

Indra smiles from a distance as he watches his childe with his mate. The two of them were such sweet children, and they most certainly deserved to be happy together. And now that he had insured no further interference from Orochimaru's favorite witch, it was up to him and his brother to organize the ferreting out of the rest of that snake's network. He could handle such a thing easily, even from here in Japan. Asura had, after all, gotten him acquainted with a phone.

Though, perhaps coaxing Kakashi into explaining the functions of a computer might also be wise. It had been Asura's next 'project', however, Indra had no plans to return to Europe as of yet. For now, being close to his childe and sire line was important. He had neglected Sasuke far too much, and he would be sure to rectify that situation now.

That, however, did NOT include watching his childe being taken on the floor of the sitting room. Which had Indra turning from the sitting room and retreating to the corridor, heading towards the kitchen, where he sensed his grand-childe's presence. "Kakashi."

"Yes, Indra?" His grand-childe smiles at him. "How can I help you?" Oh he probably wanted earplugs. "If this is what you're looking for, go ahead." He hands the ancient vampire earplugs. "Just in case you do not wish to overhear the sounds of their lovemaking."

Well, those might certainly be helpful, had Indra not heard far worse than the passionate cries of his childe in his day. "It's fine, I came looking for you, actually." Now that the young vampire had finally resurfaced from his many days romp with the vampiress. "I had several thoughts that might interest you."

"Well...normally I would find such a proposition rather intriguing, but I just found my bloodmate." Kakashi smiles happily. "So I must politely decline any offer of physical companionship."

Indra chuckles and shakes his head. "No, Kakashi, I am not here to proposition you. I am far too attached to my own heart to do such a thing." Especially to his grand-childe. "No, I simply thought that it might be a wise idea to calm things down, now that the snake has been dealt with. Sasuke and Itachi seem to be recovering from the incident, however, perhaps it would be best for them to finally have their 'honeymoon' as the humans call it." Get them out of the house, while Indra made some modifications here and there, and prepared what needed preparing. "And perhaps you might help this ancient fossil to master a computer, before doing the same with your own lady."

He chuckles at that last part. "I don't think that anyone could truly master Anko. We do deserve a proper Honeymoon, especially after everything that we've been through." She was quite the Hellcat and he had the marks on his back to prove it. "Though I would be delighted to teach you how to use a computer, first."

"Good." Indra smiles smugly. "I'm sure that it will take a mere day, perhaps two to grasp the entirety of this system that you young ones call the Internet." It was something that he had heard Asura's blond boy talk about incessantly. Apparently, it was downright magical to the youth of today.

"Well...I can teach you how to browse the Internet, but the Internet is so vast that one could never live long enough to visit all of it." Not that one would want to. There were some websites that even Kakashi didn't dare venture into.

The ancient vampires scoffs softly. "You clearly underestimate just how efficient I can be." He had done many things that most would consider it impossible to do, no matter how much time you had. And yet, here he was, over fifteen hundred years old, and now about to venture into a whole new realm of technology.

Kakashi chuckles and shakes his head. "Well there are desktops, laptops, tablets, cellphones with internet, and a whole host of devices you can get onto the internet with today." He takes him to Sasuke's computer in the study down the hall. "This is a desktop. The largest form you'll get on. For this one, you simply press this button here to turn it on."

A button to turn it on, just like a phone. Simple enough. "I see." Indra presses the button, watching as it turns orange, then green, the screen flickering to life. "I take it that the colors are akin to traffic lights, and green indicates that it is ready?"

"In this particular model yes." Kakashi smiles at him. "Though different devices might turn different colors. You'll know when it's on because the screen will no longer be black."

"Yes, I can see that." Well, what Indra could see was a picture of a moonlit night, the glowing orb hanging in the top left corner of the screen, stars flanking it over a meadow. It was very…calming. "And this screen?" It had Sasuke's name on it, right there in the center, which clearly was not part of the picture.

"That's just the background. They range quite extensively. The background can be plain or rather elaborate. It's like a fashion choice really. Some humans love customized and fancy backgrounds and some don't care." Kakashi moves the mouse, clicking on the name in the middle of the screen, logging them in.

"I see." Indra watches closely as the background disappears, changing to a new one with many small pictures littering the bottom, top, and sides of the sunset background. "And all of those pictures are…like the 'apps' on a phone, I take it?"

"Yep. Each picture has a different purpose." Kakashi points to one. "This is the button that leads to the Internet. You simply double click and it will lead you to your Internet homepage." With that being said, he demonstrates and continues to introduce Indra to the glorious and the horrors of the Internet for the next several hours.

Needless to say, the ancient vampire was NOT impressed with some of this 'human ingenuity'. "…Arse-biscuits…"

"So…" The two of them had finally relocated to the bed after some…fun in the living room. And Sasuke wasn't sure how to say this to his mate without sounding like an idiot. "…My childe is teaching my sire how to use a computer."

"Oh boy." Itachi blinks at that as he imagines all the delightful websites Indra was visiting. "This might not end well."

"Apparently, his opinion of humans has lowered into arse-biscuit territory." At least, that's what Kakashi had mentioned to him as he'd gotten up to retrieve some scotch from the kitchen. "It's kind of…weird to imagine."

"What does arse-biscuit mean?" That didn't make any sense to Itachi. "Actually, never mind." Perhaps, he didn't want to know.

"Yeah, you don't want to know." Sasuke hadn't really wanted to know either, but…Naruto. That Scottish vampire had a foul mouth at times, and that was just one of the many curses he'd heard come out of the blond's mouth. "Apparently, my sire also thinks that we should get away from Japan and go on an actual honeymoon." Even though, strictly speaking, they weren't actually married. "Maybe a bloodmoon would be more accurate, but whatever…"

Oh. Hmm. Well that was an interesting suggestion. "I wouldn't be opposed to such a notion, if there was somewhere that you wanted to go." Though Itachi was perfectly happy here.

"Well…" Sasuke closes his eyes, thinking for a moment. "Monaco is nice this time of year. We could spend a month by the Mediterranean."

"That sounds lovely." Itachi cuddles to him more. "Though anywhere with you is lovely." Unless of course you were Orochimaru and got decapitated.

"Then we can leave in the morning. Or in a couple of days." For now, Sasuke didn't really want to move much. He was too comfortable, wrapped up in Itachi's arms. "We've got time…" He smiles softly. "We've got centuries."

Itachi smiles wryly at that. "Perhaps even a couple millennia or more, actually." Centuries sounded good though. "Though that is probably how long the honeymoon period will last. Centuries."

Sasuke smirks, rolling them over and planting a kiss on Itachi's lips. "Let's get started, then." And never…ever stop.